Varese’s debut novel was inspired by the life story of the real-life father of spirit photography, William H. Mumler. His fictional stand-in here is EVarese’s debut novel was inspired by the life story of the real-life father of spirit photography, William H. Mumler. His fictional stand-in here is Edward Moody, who was a battlefield photographer under Matthew Brady and now owns his own photography studio in Boston. Moody considers himself to be doing a service to the bereaved by fabricating family photographs in which the ghost of a departed loved one appears. But his own loss looms large, and he must undertake a quest to the New Orleans bayou to find out what really happened. This all sounds rather more exciting than it actually is. Like Steven Price’s By Gaslight, The Spirit Photographer is too long and melodramatic, often requiring a major suspension of disbelief. The novel is capably written and plotted, but doesn’t stand out in the sea of historical fiction or live up to its exciting premise. What with Varese’s academic background, he may have been better off writing this as nonfiction.
(Nearly 3.5) Look closely at the cover of Miles’s third novel and you see the central drama depicted: wheelchair tracks snake up and stop three-quarte(Nearly 3.5) Look closely at the cover of Miles’s third novel and you see the central drama depicted: wheelchair tracks snake up and stop three-quarters of the way from the top, where they are replaced by footprints: A paralyzed Afghanistan veteran stands up and walks in Biloxi, MS. Is it a miracle, or an explainable medical phenomenon? Miles has been sly in how he’s packaged this. On the title page he calls it a ‘True Story’, and the style is reminiscent of journalistic reportage (like in Dave Eggers’s Zeitoun). But he made it all up. Some may feel tricked – which would be a shame, as there are interesting questions of faith and science that would be rewarding for a book club to discuss. Miles’s previous novel, Want Not, is the book I most wish I’d written, so it was perhaps inevitable this one would suffer in comparison. Dr. Janice and her eccentric Southern author father, Winston, were my favorite characters; I never particularly warmed to Cameron or Tanya, who don’t fully outgrow the country bumpkin stereotype.
Based on a real-life refugee crisis that hit Canada in 2009, Bala’s debut novel illuminates all sides of the issue by focusing on a father and son whoBased on a real-life refugee crisis that hit Canada in 2009, Bala’s debut novel illuminates all sides of the issue by focusing on a father and son who travel from Sri Lanka to Vancouver Island by boat, their lawyers, and the Japanese-Canadian adjudicator who is to decide on their case. The message about the necessity of compassion might not be very subtle, but it’s an important one given the plight of refugees around the world today. There is always a danger of history repeating itself, but getting to know individual refugees and forming compassionate connections is one key way to replace stereotypes with real knowledge. ‘Fresh off the boat’ is an insult the character Kumi used to hear as she walked down the street, and it could be literally applied to Mahindan and his fellow asylum-seekers. But as the epigraph from Martin Luther King, Jr. so perfectly expresses, “We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.”
(Nearly 3.5) Halliburton’s debut novel is inspired by a real-life scandal that shook the Royal Academy of Arts in the 1790s while American-born Benjam(Nearly 3.5) Halliburton’s debut novel is inspired by a real-life scandal that shook the Royal Academy of Arts in the 1790s while American-born Benjamin West was its president. The descriptive language is rich with colors and patterns, creating what are basically miniature landscapes. I especially enjoyed the various cameos from other historical figures (like Mary Wollstonecraft and Thomas Paine). There are a lot of names and time jumps to keep up with, and the narration moves inconsistently between past and present tense. I also found some of the metaphors a bit overwritten. However, this is overall an absorbing story with lively characters and an unconventional female lead.
(Nearly 3.5) Edelstein’s mother drowned in the Great Barrier Reef in 1998. In this debut memoir, she relives their testy relationship and posits that (Nearly 3.5) Edelstein’s mother drowned in the Great Barrier Reef in 1998. In this debut memoir, she relives their testy relationship and posits that her brother’s earlier suicide was what for a long time blocked her from processing her mother’s untimely death. Though capably written, this doesn’t particularly stand apart from other recent bereavement stories.
Blending historical, contemporary and future story lines, this inventive novel, originally published in Norway in 2015, is a hymn to the dying art of Blending historical, contemporary and future story lines, this inventive novel, originally published in Norway in 2015, is a hymn to the dying art of beekeeping and a wake-up call about the environmental disaster the disappearance of bees signals. The plot strands share the strong themes of troubled parenthood and the drive to fulfill one’s purpose. Like David Mitchell or Louisa Hall, Lunde juggles extremely different time periods and voices admirably. The only sections of the book that dragged for me were those in Tao’s narrative that explain the world’s collapse. I find that it’s best for speculative fiction in this vein (Margaret Atwood et al.) to leave the exact how of the environmental catastrophe to the reader’s imagination, as a blow-by-blow can end up feeling tedious. However, from page to page this is a very readable novel that hardly seems like a translation.
Set in the 1930s and 1940s, this is the story of Anna Kerrigan, a New Yorker of Irish extraction whose father disappears after working for Dexter StylSet in the 1930s and 1940s, this is the story of Anna Kerrigan, a New Yorker of Irish extraction whose father disappears after working for Dexter Styles, a gangster who owns several nightclubs. Egan focuses on interesting historical side notes such as Anna’s work as a diver at Brooklyn Navy Yard during WWII, but in general her insertion of period detail is not very natural. I couldn’t help but compare this with her previous novel, the highly original A Visit From the Goon Squad, which won a Pulitzer in 2011. By comparison, Manhattan Beach is merely serviceable historical fiction and tended to lose my interest when it went into flashbacks to Anna’s father Eddie’s earlier life or veered away to spend lots of time with Styles. My interest was only ever in Anna, so sections prioritizing other characters felt rather like time wasted. Although there are a couple dramatic twists and the occasional fine descriptive passage awaiting the patient reader, overall this is not a stand-out work. I look forward to Egan returning to what she’s so good at: commentary on contemporary America.
Summer 1969: four young siblings escape a sweltering New York City morning by visiting a fortune teller who can tell you the day you’ll die. In the deSummer 1969: four young siblings escape a sweltering New York City morning by visiting a fortune teller who can tell you the day you’ll die. In the decades that follow, they have to decide what to do with this advance knowledge: will it spur them to live courageous lives, or drive them to desperation? This compelling family story lives up to the hype. I can imagine how much fun Benjamin had researching and writing it as she’s able to explore four distinct worlds: Daniel, a military doctor, examines Iraq War recruits; Klara becomes a magician in Las Vegas; Varya researches aging via primate studies; and Simon is a dancer in San Francisco. The settings, time periods, and career paths are so diverse that you get four novels’ worth of interesting background.
Raised in New York and now a Paris resident, Lauren Elkin has always felt at home in cities. Here she traces how women writers and artists have made tRaised in New York and now a Paris resident, Lauren Elkin has always felt at home in cities. Here she traces how women writers and artists have made the world’s great cities their own, blending memoir, social history and literary criticism. In a neat example of form flowing from content, the book meanders from city to city and figure to figure. My interest waned during later chapters on protesting (‘taking to the streets’) and the films of Agnès Varda. However, especially when she’s musing on Martha Gellhorn’s rootlessness, Elkin captures the angst of being a woman caught between places and purposes in a way that expatriates like myself will appreciate. It’s in making the history of the flâneuse personal that Elkin opens her book up to a wider swathe of readers than just the feminist social historians and literary critics who might seem like her natural audience. I would particularly recommend this to readers of Rebecca Solnit and Olivia Laing.
Alice, a young publishing assistant, is sent from New York City to Los Angeles to encourage one-hit wonder and Harper Lee type M.M. Banning (aka Mimi Alice, a young publishing assistant, is sent from New York City to Los Angeles to encourage one-hit wonder and Harper Lee type M.M. Banning (aka Mimi Gillespie) to produce her long-delayed second novel. But when she arrives she discovers her most pressing duty is keeping an eye on Mimi’s oddball son, nine-year-old Frank. I doubt you’ve ever met a character quite like Frank. (I appreciated how, although he is clearly on what would be termed the autistic spectrum, Johnson avoids naming his condition.) Alice narrates the whole book in the first person. She finds herself caught in a four-person battle of wits – Alice, Mimi, Frank, and “itinerant male role model” Xander – inside Mimi’s big glass-fronted fishbowl of a house. There were a couple moments when I wondered where this madcap plot could be going. In particular, we have to wait a long time to find out whether Mimi is actually going to deliver another book. But the payout is worth waiting for.
Captain Alex Vere and Justine Perry, fellow spies and lovers, move between England and France as part of a secret war effort. This solidly plotted andCaptain Alex Vere and Justine Perry, fellow spies and lovers, move between England and France as part of a secret war effort. This solidly plotted and well-written World War II-era spy story compares favorably with the works of John le Carré and Kate Atkinson. The ending certainly seems to allow for a continuation, so let’s hope that the author may have a series, or at least a sequel, in the works.
This father–daughter story is an unusual but winning blend of small-town New England atmosphere and high-octane action scenes. Imagine a John Irving nThis father–daughter story is an unusual but winning blend of small-town New England atmosphere and high-octane action scenes. Imagine a John Irving novel getting the Hollywood shoot-’em-up treatment and you’ll have some idea of what Tinti does in this unexpectedly dark book full of quirky characters (Mabel was my favorite). I found Loo’s everyday life a bit dull in comparison with the more exciting revelations about Hawley’s past. (It’s also a shame that the U.K. publishers did not change the female protagonist’s name to Lou; even that simple one-letter change would make a big difference to her story being taken more seriously.) Still, I’d recommend this to readers who don’t normally read crime thrillers but like a touch of suspense in their literary fiction.
This short, lucid book contains a pleasant combination of personal experience and philosophical musings on the millennia-old human drive to make thingThis short, lucid book contains a pleasant combination of personal experience and philosophical musings on the millennia-old human drive to make things with our hands. Korn even includes black-and-white images and color plates of some of his signature pieces. Now that he is the director of the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine, his job is more administrative than artistic, but he still sees his role as being to shepherd new works of art into life. Anyone who has a creative aspect to their work or a hobby that involves craftsmanship in some way will appreciate this book-length argument for how creativity enhances our lives, making them “richer in meaning and fulfillment than they might be otherwise.”
(Nearly 3.5) Though it’s a bit unsatisfying as a story, ultimately I thought of this as an allegorical or cautionary tale about getting stuck. In that(Nearly 3.5) Though it’s a bit unsatisfying as a story, ultimately I thought of this as an allegorical or cautionary tale about getting stuck. In that case, the novel’s title might serve as a clue to how to get out again: “mirror” – take a good look at yourself; “shoulder” – remember where you came from; and then “signal” – figure out small actions that indicate your willingness to change. For Sonja that’s the driving lessons, which symbolize true autonomy: once she gets her license she’ll be able to go wherever she wants. This novel probably won’t be for everyone (there isn’t all that much of a plot), but it’s a quick and offbeat read. It might just remind you of situations you’ve allowed to control you, and inspire you to find a way out.
(4.5) In this highly autobiographical novel from a Swedish poet, Tom has to face the sudden loss of his partner and his father in quick succession whi(4.5) In this highly autobiographical novel from a Swedish poet, Tom has to face the sudden loss of his partner and his father in quick succession while also adjusting to single parenthood. Originally published in 2015, this is Malmquist’s first work of prose. While it’s being marketed as a novel, it reads more like a stylized memoir. Similar to Karl Ove Knausgaard’s books, it features the author as the central character and narrator. With its frank look at medical crises, this is a book I fully expect to see on next year’s Wellcome Prize shortlist. It reminds me very much of this year’s winner (the first novel in translation to win), Maylis de Kerangal’s Mend the Living, as well as Joseph Luzzi’s nonfiction account of bereavement and single fatherhood, In a Dark Wood. Highly recommended.
(Nearly 3.5) This seasonal anthology contains a nice mixture of poetry, nature and travel pieces, and excerpts from longer works of fiction. Some favo(Nearly 3.5) This seasonal anthology contains a nice mixture of poetry, nature and travel pieces, and excerpts from longer works of fiction. Some favorite pieces were W.H. Hudson on the town birds of Bath in the late nineteenth century, Mark Twain on his determination to keep wearing his trademark white through the winter, a Hans Christian Andersen dialogue between a snowman who longs to be by the stove and the yard-dog that warns him away, and Richard Jefferies on those who go out to work on a winter morning. I enjoyed the poetry the most. All told, though, there are too many seventeenth-century and older pieces with archaic spellings, and a number of the history and travel extracts, in particular, feel overlong – with nearly 40 pages in total from Ernest Shackleton’s South. Especially given the thin pages and small type, this represents a tediously large chunk of the book.
(Nearly 3.5) This Dutch novel from 1947 appears in English translation for the first time. Twenty-three-year-old Frits van Egters lives with his paren(Nearly 3.5) This Dutch novel from 1947 appears in English translation for the first time. Twenty-three-year-old Frits van Egters lives with his parents, works at an office job, and spends his evenings wandering the streets of Amsterdam and visiting friends and relatives. His ennui comes through clearly in these 10 chapters set at the end of December 1946. Anyone who has been stuck in a dead-end job, living with their parents in their mid-twenties, will sympathize with Frits’s situation. I particularly enjoyed his dream sequences, like the one where he’s trapped in a department store and can’t find a toilet so has to urinate in vases. But in general I found the novel’s format repetitive and the ideas rather prosaic. Luckily, the final chapter, set on New Year’s Eve, ends strongly. This is an unusual book, but if the synopsis appeals to you or you just fancy trying a cult classic from another country’s literature, you will find it an atmospheric wintry read.
With tenderness and honesty, Ziegler tells the story of her daughter Brittany Maynard’s life and death. Diagnosed with a massive brain tumor at age 29With tenderness and honesty, Ziegler tells the story of her daughter Brittany Maynard’s life and death. Diagnosed with a massive brain tumor at age 29, Brittany chose to move to Oregon and end her life in November 2014 using the state’s Death with Dignity Act. Assisted dying is a controversial subject, but no matter your views I think you will be touched by this grieving mother’s tribute to her daughter. The book rather elegantly alternates chapters from Brittany’s medical journey toward death with chapters about her earlier life. Each is headed with the dates and Brittany’s age at the time, so it is easy to follow the chronology. What I most admired about Ziegler’s account is that she does not have her rose-tinted glasses on. This memoir could easily have become mawkish but instead remains dignified: well-structured, balanced, and nicely written. I can highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the topic.
(3.75) Evan and Julia are college sweethearts whose relationship faces serious obstacles when they move to New York City together at the start of the (3.75) Evan and Julia are college sweethearts whose relationship faces serious obstacles when they move to New York City together at the start of the 2008 financial crisis. This debut novel takes a look at the forces that whittle away at love and the way that decisions shape our path. It’s about growing up, and the mistakes we make along the way. And it’s about the way that, even after major failures, we can build a sense of the future once again. Ultimately, although it feels melancholy for much of its length, this is a hopeful book. Pitoniak (a Random House editor who, like Evan, is from British Columbia and attended Yale) writes realistic situations and convincing characters, and I’ll be interested to see what she comes out with next.
(3.5) The heart holds a lot of metaphorical weight. These seven stories are unusual windows onto different kinds of love (often one of the ancient Gre(3.5) The heart holds a lot of metaphorical weight. These seven stories are unusual windows onto different kinds of love (often one of the ancient Greek classifications), from familial to erotic. Carys Bray’s and Nikesh Shukla’s stories are particular highlights; there is also strong work from Donal Ryan and Rowan Hisayo Buchanan. I enjoyed how these stories use loose definitions of the various types of love and play around with the boundaries. Ultimately, my rating reflects the fact that the quality is uneven: there are two excellent stories, two very good ones, and three that fall into the range of okay or forgettable. Still, this is a quick read and one that will introduce you to new authors and/or reacquaint you with familiar ones.
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